On the importance of privacy
The other day I was having lunch with a friend and his wife. Somehow the discussion reached the subject of privacy, and I have yet again met with the ubiquitous claim:
Why should I care about my privacy? I have nothing to hide.
This is a tough one for me. I’m trying to answer this one the best I can, but it invariably portrays me as some kind of fanatic or zealot. The best answer I can come with to date is:
Because all this data about you is out there, and some day you will need this privacy - because you’ll get involved with the wrong person, your identity will be stolen, or even something will happen which you cannot envision today - and it will be impossible for you to control the vast amount of information about you that is constantly accumulated out there.
For some reason, this doesn’t work well with people. People have a hard time relating to a vague future. Is there a better way to get the idea across? The idea that if we do not do anything about our privacy it will be irretrievably gone?
I also find it difficult to explain this to people without seeming overly paranoid.
Comment by Saar Drimer — July 11th, 2005 @ 10:12 amMy suggestion for you is to go google and look up “identity theft.” Many horror stories will present themselves to you. Forward these to your friends and make them promise to read them.
The media has perfected the art of fear mongering, there is really no reason to try and compete.
There was a good article in some magazine that I can’t remember the name of. It profiles several instances of incorrect data and the problems it caused. One guy got locked up because he had the same name and birth date of an escaped felon. The problem was when background information got mixed and the bad guy’s credit showed up on his credit report.
So I always go with the argument, what happens when they data gatherers are wrong? Everyone that I have spoken too has no problem with the No Fly list, except if their name was on it. I have an ex coworker that has to carry a pound worth of paperwork every time he flies to prove he is not the terrorist they want. He takes the train alot….
Comment by Xavier Ashe — July 11th, 2005 @ 3:27 pmPart of the problem is that it is hard for most people to think rationally about unlikely outcomes - otherwise there would be no insurance scams, no casinos and no lottery. Not to mention that terrorism wouldn’t impress anybody…
I usually go for the argument that loss of privacy means that your business is everybody else’s conversation topic. It is the means for applying “peer pressure” and forcing people to conform. Most of us had a difficult time with peer pressure in our teens, so people understand that it isn’t a good idea.
Still - Xavier’s argument is good. The “mistaken indentity” examples are scary.
Comment by shrevz — July 30th, 2005 @ 1:12 pm